1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an anti-dust technique of an electronic imaging apparatus using an imaging element.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an electronic imaging apparatus, generally called an electronic camera or a digital camera has come into practical use, which forms an object image formed based a light flux transmitted from an object through an imaging optical system onto a photoelectric conversion surface of an imaging element and the like arranged at a predetermined position, and generates an electric image signal representing a desired object image by utilizing a photoelectric conversion effect of the imaging element and the like.
Among such electronic cameras, there is one constituted in such a manner that it comprises a single lens reflex type finder apparatus, an imaging optical system is detachably configured so as to be detachable with respect to a camera main body and a plurality of types of imaging optical systems can be selectively used in a single camera main body by arbitrarily attaching/detaching and replacing a desired imaging optical system on demand by a user.
In such an electronic camera in which a lens can be replaceable, dusts and the like floating in air may possibly enter the inside of the camera main body when the imaging optical system is removed from the camera main body. Further, since various kinds of mechanisms such as a shutter/diaphragm mechanism which mechanically operate are arranged in the camera main body, foreign particles and the like may be generated from these mechanism during their operation in some cases.
Furthermore, when the dusts, foreign particles and the like adhere to a protection glass surface arranged on a front surface of the imaging element, they are transferred into a picked-up image, which results in a visually undesirable image.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic imaging apparatus with anti-dust function which can assuredly remove dusts or foreign particles which have adhered on the protection glass.